SALEM, Ohio (WYTV) – As Christmas break winds down, kids will start heading back into the classroom. Since they haven’t seen their classmates for about two weeks, germs could continue to spread.
Dr. Mike Sevilla, of the Family Practice Center of Salem, said there are things to watch.
“See how your kid is doing. Are they having symptoms of fever? Are they having a cough? Do they not look like themselves when they’re getting ready to send them back to school,” he said.
Being around family for the break, they could bring back something to share with other kids.
“A lot of them, this was their first holiday back together. A couple of years ago — 2020 — called everything off. About a year ago was this Omicron spike where a lot of families just didn’t get back together,” Dr. Sevilla said.
The CDC has warned about the number of cases rising for a respiratory illnesses. Dr. Sevilla said his office has seen the same thing.
“This year, we’re seeing more flu and influenza numbers go up over the past few weeks,” he said.
Dr. Sevilla said he is surprised just by the volume of positive cases for this year, but he expected some sort of jump in the numbers of these types of sicknesses.
“This time of year, we do expect a little bit of a bump in viral illnesses, whether it’s RSV or flu, especially with kids,” he said.
Simple things that developed from the pandemic can help, such as washing your hands and monitoring your child.
“It really should be parents’ choice whether they have kids wear masks during school or if their kid isn’t really feeling well or just keep them at home until they are feeling better,” Dr. Sevilla said.
